Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1887-02-12
A HORRIBLE DISASTER.

Fearful Slaughter on 2 Vermont Railroad.
-Four Cars Dumped Fifty Feet Down on
10 the ley Red OF Rivsr-The Cars Take
Fire and About Forty Unfortunate Pas
sengers Lose Their Lives.
CONCORD, n. T., February 5.-The express
train that left Boston at O'Clock last night,
met with terrible accident near Wood
stock, on the Central Vermont railroad, at
about 2:3O O'Clock this morning. The train
started from this city on time, but was de-
tanned at White River Junction, SO it was
about an hour and half late when it left
there. It consisted OF locomotive, a bag
gage car, postal car, Two passenger coaches
and two sleeping cars and was moving at
the usual raIe Of speed. When about 200
yards south of the end of the dock bridge,
near old Windsor station. a broken rail was
struck. The locomotive, baggage car and
postal car broke away from the rest of the
train and passed over the bridge in salty.
The rest of the train was thrown
from the rails, and continued on the road
bed until 1t came near the end of the bridge.
but there 1t ran over the abutment and all
OF the cars fell into the White river, some
fifty feet below. 1t was frightful, and when
the cars went down there was a terrible
crash. AS soon as possible the detached
part of the train stopped and run back to
the scene Of the disaster. The screams of
the injured were heartrendering. Assistance
also came from the people living in the VI
cinity and everything was done to rescue
and relieve the Injured. Soon after help ar
ed in the first passenger coach and soon the
entire train was ablaZe, thus adding a new
horror to the already frightful catastrophe.
Those present were poWerless to stop the
flames, and devoted themselves to attempt
ing to rescue those imprisOnedin the wreck.
The rescuers met another and unexpected
obstacle IN the heat which became so IN
tense that they were obliged to abandon
their efforts TO save the sufferers and were
compelled 10 reCire to place of safety for
themselves and become unWillingly, horror
stricken witnesses to an awful holocaust. In
addition to this and to add to the terrors
and suhering5 of passengers, the weather
was intensely cold, and the heroic resouers
were hinder5d thereby in their work.
No water could be obtained with which to
check or extinguish the flames. The ice was
several inches thick on the river and there
were no appliance at hand to raise it.
CLAIRAIONT, n. H, February BIT Is said
( to be impossible to identify the dead. One
of the victims Is said to be a EQan named
| Wilder, from Chicago.
! WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, VI, February g.
Word was sent here Immediately after the
! accident and large force of men attended,
/ by several physicians, repaired to the scene.
! Forty persons, 1t Is supposed, were killed
outright or burned to death. The bodies of
three only of the killed were recovered from
1 the flames. About forty escaped, the most
/ of whom ware badly injured. The list of
/ killed, so far as learned, is as follows: Ed
ward Bangs, brakeman, of West Lebanon,
/ n. H.; +. O. Wesson, Springfield, Mass; s.,
/ s. WestcOtt, Burlington, VT; G. P. Mills,
/ IrOquois, Ont
! Injured-E. F. Dillon Dartmouth college,
! dangerously injured; Smith Sturtevant, con
/ ductor, right side of body burned from head
! to foot, head severely bruised, cannot live;
/ 0. BOiseret, Angelina, Quebec, internally
| injured; L. COmbremont, New York,
/ hips and back bruised; Mitchell LacailIe,
! Lawrence, Mass, head, chest and back
bruised; Moses Poulet, guide, right leg
! broken and head wounded; Mrs. w. ID.
/ Dryden, Montreal, Commissions on back;
George GENET, Syracuse, n. Y, head cut
| omen and back wounded; Horace JueW, East
| Pepperel, Mass, face, back and legs bruised,
Anna Murphy, Boston, right cheek split open
/ and back bruised; Henry TeWsbury, Ran
| dolph, vt, left leg and left arm broken;
! Mrs. Charles kastner, Boston, cOntusiOns on
/ back and limbs; Kate Kahl, Boston, severe
/ scalp wound; j. z. HutchisOn, Montgomery,
/ Vermont, spinal column injuries; Joseph Z.
/ jacques, Fitzburg, Mass, confusion over
/ the eyes, and hips and legs bruised; Henry
! Mott. Alburgh, Vermont, internally injured;
| Andrew A. Wheeler, Fitzburgh, Mass, cut
| eyes and face burned; Mrs. John GFoWal,
| Madford. Mass, ankle sprained and spinal
column injured; James Kiley, Burkeny, left
arm fractured and head bruised; @. M. Has
mer, Lowell, Mass, leg and body bruised;
| Joseph Magnet, Three Rivers, Quebec,
bodily wounded. Slightly injured-Fred &.
Fisher and Howard Smith, CfiOcester, Mass;
Miss Marie Sadler, OrmastOWn, Ont; Polly
ATil, ChicOpee, Mass. Herbert Cushing,
AiddleborO, Mass; Andrew A. Wheeler.
men,ESt. Albany, Vt. The above are all
identified.
So far as known, on the ice near the
bridge, are tWsnty-sIx charred, unrecOgniza-
bic bodies. Doubtless many WereIentirely
cremated-